Towards an integrated set of surface meteorological observations for climate science and applications

Observations are the foundation for understanding the climate system. Yet, currently available land meteorological data are highly fractured into various global, regional and national holdings for different variables and timescales, from a variety of sources, and in a mixture of formats. Added to this, many data are still inaccessible for analysis and usage. To meet modern scientific and societal demands as well as emerging needs such as the provision of climate services, it is essential that we improve the management and curation of available land-based meteorological holdings. We need a comprehensive global set of data holdings, of known provenance, that is truly integrated both across Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) and across timescales to meet the broad range of stakeholder needs. These holdings must be easily discoverable, made available in accessible formats, and backed up by multi-tiered user support. The present paper provides a high level overview, based upon broad community input, of the steps that are required to bring about this integration. The significant challenge is to find a sustained means to realize this vision. This requires a long-term international program. The database that results will transform our collective ability to provide societally relevant research, analysis and predictions in many weather and climate related application areas across much of the globe

How Do Stakeholders Engaged in School-University Partnerships Create Value for their Own Organizations?

The purpose of this study was to determine how stakeholders engaged in school-university partnerships, specifically in the work preparing future school administrators, created and captured value for their own organizations. These case studies examined three partnerships that involved three school systems who all partnered with the same college, which allowed for multi-site and within site analysis. The study used the voices of key stakeholders, partnership documents, and observations of key events within the partnerships as data sources to focus on what stakeholders took away from the partnerships for their own organizations. The review of literature included research on the role of school-university partnerships in principal preparation reform, and the impact of such reform on leadership succession in schools. In addition, the literature on collaboration provided a clear context for identifying, analyzing and interpreting the actions of stakeholders in these partnerships. The partnerships were examined using negotiated order theory as a conceptual and theoretical framework. This framework proved valuable for determining the actions stakeholders in regard to the preconditions and processes of collaboration, with specific focus on value creation and capture as outcomes. The findings showed that value creation and capture were specific and significant for all organizations, although there was variance across the partnerships as to what and how value was created and captured. Recommendations were offered for organizations interested in creating school-university partnerships. Recommendations could also be broadly applied to many types of organizations in the social sector that are interested in partnering as a means of creating and capturing value for their own organizations

Effects of Distillers Grains With Solubles (DDGS) and Paylean® Supplementation on Carcass Quality, Color Stability, and Sensory Characteristics of Pork

Forty pigs (66.6 lb) were used in a 14-week 4-phase regime study conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding varying concentrations of DDGS to growing-finishing pigs formulated on a standardized ileal digestibility (SID) lysine (lys) basis, DDGS withdrawal at the last feeding phase, and ractopamine (RAC) supplementation 4 weeks prior to harvesting on carcass quality, and color stability and sensory characteristics of longissimus muscle (LM) of finishing pigs. Treatments consisted in 0, 15, or 40% dietary DDGS inclusion supplemented with or without RAC (4.5 ppm) 4 weeks prior harvesting. Final body weight, hot carcass weight, and dressing percentage were not affected by dietary DDGS inclusion, withdrawal or RAC supplementation (P \u3e 0.10). Color characteristics were not affected by dietary DDGS inclusion or withdrawal (P \u3e 0.10); however, dietary RAC supplementation reduced a* and b* at days 0 and 7 (P \u3e 0.10). Total polyunsaturated fatty (TPUFA) acids increased and total saturated fatty acids (TSFA) were decreased in response to increased dietary DDGS inclusion (P \u3c 0.01); however, DDGS withdrawal partially alleviated these changes in fatty acid composition by increasing TSFA and reducing TPUFA (P \u3c 0.01). The inclusion of RAC decreased TSFA and increased total monounsaturated fatty acids concentration (P = 0.03 and 0.04, respectively). Sensory characteristics were not affected by dietary RAC, DDGS inclusion or DDGS withdrawal (P \u3e 0.10). The results of this investigation suggest that dietary RAC, DDGS inclusion or DDGS withdrawal did not affect carcass quality as evaluated by color, chemical composition, and sensory characteristics of LM of growing-finishing pigs. Increasing the concentration of dietary DDGS altered the fatty acid profile of backfat of pigs by decreasing saturated and increasing unsaturated fatty acids. However, withdrawing DDGS, 4 weeks prior to harvesting partially alleviated the increase in PUFA, and consequently the “soft pork” problems associated with the use of DDGS

Shelf life of ground beef enriched with omega‐3 and/or conjugated linoleic acid and use of grape seed extract to inhibit lipid oxidation

The shelf life and oxidative stability of refrigerated raw ground beef enriched with omega‐3 and/or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were studied. Grape seed extract (GSE) was used to inhibit lipid oxidation in the ground beef. Eight treatments of ground beef were established according to the enrichment of beef (control, enriched with omega‐3, with CLA, or with omega‐3 plus CLA) and the use of GSE (0 and 250 mg GSE/kg product). Fresh beef was ground and mixed with GSE and salt. Treatments of beef were stored at 2 ± 1°C in aerobic packaging for 0, 1, 3, and 6 days under retail display conditions. Oxidation stability (thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances [TBARS]), pH, instrumental color, metmyoglobin formation, and sensory attributes (color and odor) were measured. Omega‐3‐enriched beef increased the oxidation level at day 6 as determined by TBARS (P < 0.05), but the instrumental color was not affected. The enrichment of CLA improved the coordinates of color (P < 0.05) until day 3 and decreased the oxidation at day 6 (P < 0.05). There were no differences in color and odor values among the types of beef during display, except at day 3, when CLA treatments had the highest scores. Addition of GSE decreased the oxidation level (P < 0.001) and did not affect the instrumental color or the sensory parameters

The Effect of Corn Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS) on Carcass Characteristics and Pork Quality

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding 0,5,10 or 15% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on carcass quality, color stability, and sensory characteristics of the longissimus muscle (LM) of finishing pigs. Live weight and hot carcass weight decreased as dietary DDGS increased (P \u3c 0.05). Dressing percentage did not differ among treatments (P - 0.72). After 10 days of retail display, no differences were observed among treatments for color or color change (P \u3e 0.05). No differences in shear force were observed (P = 0.34). Total unsaturated fatty acids increased and total saturated fatty acids decreased (P \u3c 0.05) as dietary DDGS increased. Treatments did not affect sensory characteristics (P \u3e 0.05). The results of this investigation suggest that dietary DDGS inclusion altered fatty acid profile of the backfat of pigs by reducing total saturated fatty acid and increasing total unsaturated fatty acid concentration. Increasing the concentration of dietary DDGS did not affect color, chemical composition, or sensory characteristics of the LM

Cast Films from Soy Protein Isolates and Fractions

Glycerol-plasticized soy protein films were cast from alkaline aqueous film-forming solutions of laboratory-prepared 7S, 11S, and soy isolate (LSI) fractions and from commercial soy isolate (CSI). Tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (E), water vapor permeability (WVP), total soluble matter (TSM), protein solubility (PS), and Hunter L, a, and b color values of these films were determined. The 11S films had greater TS than 7S films (P \u3c 0.05), while LSI films had greater TS than CSI films (P \u3c 0.05). No significant differences were detected among mean E values and among mean WVP values of all films (P \u3e 0.05). The 7S films had higher TSM and PS values than 11S films (P \u3c 0.05). CSI films were significantly darker (lower L value) and more yellow (greater positive b value) than LSI films (P \u3c 0.05)